By Jack Giroux/Nov. 6, 2015 7:30 am EST

Roland (Brad Pitt) and Vanessa (Jolie Pitt) aren’t half the people they used to be. Roland, a once promising writer, doesn’t have any stories left to tell and is an alcoholic. Vanessa, a dancer-turned-wife, is ambivalent, suffering from a past event. The New York couple head to Malta. Roland is looking for a story to tell, but he’s really looking for a way to save his marriage. Even when the married couple are in a hotel room together, they might as well be on opposite sides of the planet.

Two French honeymooners, Lea (Mélanie Laurent) and Francois (Melvil Pouopard), make matters worse for the couple, or better, depending on how one interprets the film. Between their two hotel rooms, there’s a peephole, which both Roland and, mostly, Vanessa, take advantage of, watching the couple in their most intimate moments.

Once the film picks begins trusting its audience more, Jolie Pitt’s script is as finely tuned as her shot choices. The repetition grows richer, highlighting the roller coaster ride of Roland and Vanessa’s relationship. The opening and ending, especially, tie together beautifully. Not only from a character standpoint, but also because of how Jolie Pitt and Berger visually express how the characters have changed. The married couple are in a very different place by the end of the film, and the camerawork shows you that. I won’t spoil the arc by explaining the difference in framing, but I will say it illustrates how far the actor has come as a director.

Pitt is fantastic as Roland. From frame one, the actor is a convincing sad sack. Sure, the character looks like Brad Pitt and is clearly wealthy, but his desperation and struggle is palpable in every scene. No matter how poorly he acts, you root for the writer to pull through. Jolie Pitt has the more challenging role of the two. Vanessa is cold and distant, and why that is remains a mystery until the third act. At times the character can’t even explain her irrational actions. It’s an ego-less performance, a deeply unlikable character Jolie Pitt fully embraces. Never does the writer/director attempt to excuse or justify Vanessa or Roland’s actions, she just presents them as is.